Find out how popular the last name Anaya is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Anaya.

Anaya, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Anaya surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Anaya in America

Anaya is the 1488th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Anaya surname appeared 24,017 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Anaya.

We can also compare 2010 data for Anaya to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Anaya

The surname Anaya has its roots in the Basque Country, a region straddling the border between Spain and France. It is believed to have originated in the late 10th or early 11th century, derived from the Basque word "anai," meaning "brother." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive one, referring to a person's relationship or position within a family or community.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Becerro de Reparaciones de Castilla, a historical document from the 13th century that listed landowners and properties. In this record, an individual named Sancho Anaya is mentioned as a landowner in the region of Castile.

The name Anaya also appears in various medieval manuscripts and records from the Iberian Peninsula. For example, in the 14th century, a soldier named Pedro Anaya fought alongside King Alfonso XI of Castile in the siege of Gibraltar against the Moors. Another noteworthy figure was Juan de Anaya, a prominent theologian and prelate who served as the Archbishop of Seville in the early 15th century.

As the name spread beyond its Basque origins, it took on various spellings and forms. In some regions of Spain, it was written as "Anaia" or "Anaya," while in Portuguese-speaking areas, it was sometimes rendered as "Anaia" or "Anaía."

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Anaya was Rodrigo de Anaya, a Spanish conquistador born in the late 15th century. He accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico and played a role in the conquest of the Aztec Empire. Another notable figure was Pedro de Anaya, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and navigator who participated in expeditions to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

In the realm of literature, the name Anaya is associated with Rudolfo Anaya, a celebrated Mexican-American author and professor born in 1937. His novels, such as "Bless Me, Ultima" and "Heart of Aztlan," explored themes of cultural identity and the Chicano experience.

Other prominent individuals with the surname Anaya include Domingo Anaya, a Mexican military officer and politician who served as the interim president of Mexico in 1847, and Alejandro Anaya, a Mexican businessman and entrepreneur born in 1926, who founded the successful textile company Grupo Anaya.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Anaya

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Anaya.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Anaya was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Anaya has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Anaya was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Anaya, please contact us.

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